Remember during the 1992 Democratic National Convention when Ted Kennedy
stood at the podium and ticked off a host of issues and after every one,
asked "Where was George?" referring to President Bush's attention
or lack thereof to issues that Kennedy thought were important to the country?

Well, unfortunately, eight years later we might start asking the same
question of George W. on the issue of privacy. For instance, under the
Clinton/Gore Administration the practice of doctor/patient confidentiality
and patients' rights have become non-existent.

Under this Administration, doctors are required to report to the government
what diseases, illnesses and other ailments he treats you for and what
medicines he prescribes. All of that information is stored in government
databases here not only government officials but law enforcement officers
as well as your current or potential employer has access to the information.
Where is George on the issue of medical privacy?

Under the Clinton/Gore Administration, we saw such outrageous proposals
such as Know Your Customer where banks and other financial institutions
were required to monitor the account activity of each of its customers
and report any deviations from their normal spending or deposit patterns
to federal law enforcement in the event that you happen to be laundering
money. The personal information including checking account or credit card
numbers, the amount you owe in loans and other personal financial information
collected by banks on their customers is shared with insurance companies
and mortgage brokers without your consent. Where is George on the issue
of financial privacy?

Under the Clinton/Gore Administration, we saw the number of federal agents
quadruple, and a federal law enforcement agency that sought to gut the
Fourth Amendment by expanding its surveillance powers to the point where
agents no longer have to get a warrant to wiretap a person's telephone
line, instead, they get a warrant to tap all of the phones in the vicinity
of a suspect. So if your neighbor is a suspect in a crime, the private
conversations that you may be having in your own home may not be so private
after all.

This same Administration believed that all cell phones should have location
tracking features installed and the FBI went as far as to demand that
cell phone manufacturers be required to install such features in every
model of phone in order for law enforcement to track the location of cell
phone users - again, all in the name of fighting crime.

In addition to tracking our location via our cell phones, we have also
seen an increase in surveillance cameras along our nation's highways and
neighborhood street corners, to keep us under the ever-watchful eye of
government.

In addition, federal law enforcement agencies sought the legal authority
to enter a person's home without serving a warrant, seize property without
taking inventory, all in the name of fighting crime. Again, I ask, Where
is George on the role of law enforcement surveillance practices vs. our
Constitutional rights?

Under the Clinton/Gore Administration we have witnessed the stifling
of strong encryption technology. Encryption would allow us to keep our
personal online information and conversations secure from eavesdroppers
and identity thieves. This Administration treated encryption as a "munition"
and required anyone who wished to develop it to first apply for a license
to be a firearms dealer and then proceeded to reject such applications
from cryptographers. Most people have never heard of encryption, tech
companies and individuals aren't really allowed to develop it and the
result is that our personal correspondence and online information is not
secure and easy to steal. Where is George on the issue of encryption?

Finally, identity theft continues to be a growing problem in the US because
there are few or no restrictions on the public and private sector's practices
of collecting and sharing our personal, private data with marketers or
the highest bidder. The Clinton/Gore Administration has not only allowed
this practice of information sharing but has in the case of medical, financial
and employment data, required it! Because government agencies and private
sector entities are required to collect our information and allowed to
sell it, identity theft is a booming business and has already affected
over 100,000 Americans. Where is George on the issue of identity theft
and the collection of our personal information?

This is not to say that George W. Bush would be as horrible as the current
Administration has been on issues related to our liberties. In fact, in
my opinion, I think he would be a great improvement over the current situation
but unfortunately, he's keeping his views on privacy, well . . . private.
These issues are of great concern to the American people and they are
not a flash in the pan.

As technology continues to play a larger role in our lives, the threats
to our liberties will become greater and the American people need to know
whether the candidates who aspire to run this country will defend them
or continue along the same path of erosion that we've been traveling for
the last eight years.